The invention relates to a support device for containers, for extracorporeal blood treatment machines, or for renal failure treatment machines.
In more detail, the support device is destined to hold in position a predetermined number of bags containing the appropriate liquids destined for the various therapies which the patient will undergo.
As is known, the market already offers various machines for extracorporeal blood treatment, or for treatment of renal insufficiency, which machines are provided with respective support devices associated to the machine.
A first type of these support devices is constituted by arms, for example metal arms, which are engaged to the structure, directly constrained to the machine at an upper portion of the machine and provided at ends of the arms with one or more hooks which the bags containing the treatment liquids are attached to.
Another type of intensive therapy machine has these support devices located at a lower portion of the machine, so that the bags are attached in a position which is below the body of the machine.
Obviously, the second above type of machine has an improved stability with regard to the first, especially concerning jogs and sharp impacts in general to the machine in use, as the whole device's centre of gravity is kept as close as possible to the ground.
Though the prior art contains various bag support devices for machines destined for renal failure treatment or extracorporeal blood treatment, these devices have proved to be susceptible to improvement of various natures.
First of all, it is to be noted that the machines provided with support devices located above the machines themselves can lead not only to the above-mentioned problems connected with unexpected impacts and displacements, but also create problems related to the sometimes laborious and problematic operations of machine loading, i.e. the necessary lifting of a plurality of bags into the high position, and the need to make sure they are correctly engaged to the supports.
On the other hand, machines with the support devices located in the lower portion of the machine body require, for reasons of stability, that the bags be positioned as close as possible to the vertical axis of the machine in order not to laterally displace the machine centre of gravity.
The above requirement leads to the need to position the containers below the machine body, in a zone which is difficult to access both visually and manually.